Ben Affleck could direct Tehran hostage crisis thriller next

The Town director in talks for Argo

Ben Affleck is in talks to direct Argo , which is based on a Wired magazine article about the Tehran hostage crisis.

This seems like it'll most likely be the next movie for Affleck, who has recently been considering The Trade (a Black List script about two baseball players who swapped wives in the 70s) and American Bullshit .

Argo also appeared on the Black List (the annual list of the best unproduced screenplays doing the rounds in Hollywood).

It sounds like a change of pace for Affleck, whose two directorial efforts to date have been (very good) crime thrillers.

The Wired article, 'How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran', was written by Joshua Bearman and adapted by Chris Terrio.

The Tehran crisis lasted 444 days between 1979 and 1981, as Islamic militants occupied the US embassy in Iran.

This story tells of the escape of six diplomatic hostages, who were able to be smuggled out when the CIA created a fake Hollywood sci-fi movie as a cover.

The situation will be played for some laughs, as the movie is said to be a wryly-humorous political thriller.